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12-09-2014 Minutes. MINUTES REGULAR MEETING December 9, 2014 A Regular Meeting was held by the Schertz City Council of the City of Schertz, Texas, on December 9, 2014, at 6:00 p.m., in the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex Council Chambers, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Building #4, Schertz, Texas. The following members present to -wit: Mayor Michael Carpenter Councilmember Jim Fowler Councilmember Cedric Edwards Staff Present: Deputy City Manager John Bierschwale Chief of Staff Bob Cantu City Secretary Brenda Dennis Call to Order Mayor Pro -Tem Daryl John Councilmember Grumpy Azzoz Councilmember Robin Thompson City Manager John Kessel Executive Director Brian James City Attorney Charles Zech Mayor Carpenter called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Invocation and Pledges of Allegiance to the Flags of the United States and the State of Texas (Mayor Michael Carpenter) Mayor Carpenter provided the invocation followed by the Pledges of Allegiance to the Flags of the United States and the State of Texas. Presentations • Presentation, discussion and/or action regarding a Funding Agreement with Lone Star Rail. (B. James) Mayor Carpenter recognized Executive Director of Development Services Brian James - who introduced Mr. Joe Black and Mr. Joe Lessard with the Lone Star Rail District. Mr. Black and Mr. Lessard provided a PowerPoint presentation covering the Local Funding approach and next steps answering questions from Council. (A Copy of the presentation can be obtained in the City Secretary's Office). City Events and Announcements • Announcements of upcoming City Events (J. BierschwaleB. James) Mayor Carpenter recognized Executive Director of Development Services Brian James who provided the following announcements: 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 1- • Thursday, December 11, 2014, Ribbon Cutting for or Baptist M &S Imaging, 16977 IH 35 North (same building as Baptist ER), 10:00 a.m. • Thursday, December 11, 2014, Northeast Partnership Meeting, Olympia Hills Golf and Conference Center, 11:30 a.m. — Please RSVP to Brenda or Donna by Wednesday, December 10, 2014. • Monday, December 15, 2014, 12 Days of Chamber Christmas Cash prize drawing party. Cibolo Coffee Haus @ 5:30 p.m. • Tuesday, December 16, Re/Max Corridor, come shop with local venders 5:30 -8:00 p.m. Refreshments, prizes, live music and Santa. • Tuesday, December 16, 2014, Retirement Luncheon for Glen Outlaw, Assistant Fire Chief, (celebrating 25 years of service to the City) Schertz Civic Center, Bldg#5, 11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m. • Thursday & Friday, December 25 & 26, City Offices Closed for the Christmas Holidays. • Announcements and recognitions by City Manager (J. Kessel) Mayor Carpenter recognized City Manager John Kessel who recognized the Police Department regarding their most recent Public Service Announcement production regarding locking your car doors during the holidays. The production utilized Lt. Mike Carey playing the Christmas Grinch; others involved included CID Corporal Ernest Spradling, Patrol Officer Hillary Halbardier, and many others. This was a first class production and our Chief of Police makes an appearance at the end. Mr. Kessel stated it had a media value of $5,000, and if we would have had to buy that same air time it would have cost between $5,000 and $15,000. This was all free; congratulations to our police department. Hearing of Residents: Mayor Carpenter recognized the following who spoke: Ms. Phyllis Willman, Senior Center Director, 3544 Peachtree, who addressed the Council regarding the importance of the Senior Center and the need to complete the process of bids for a professional organization to take over the Senior Center. Mr. Glen Outlaw, 3729 Forsythe Park, who spoke regarding employee compensation. Mr. Reed Carr, President of the Northcliffe HOA, 3509 Columbia Drive, who addressed Council regarding resolution needs and code violations within their area, asking for assistance from the Police and Marshal's offices. Mayor Carpenter moved to agenda item 7. Discussion and Action Item FPH ] 7. Annexation - Conduct a Public Hearing to consider and discuss a petition by Cibolo Creek Municipal Authority, for voluntary annexation for approximately 69.111 acres, 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 2 - located on Trainer Hale Road, approximately 1500 feet north of I -10, all in Bexar County Texas, located at 7720 Trainer Hale Road. (First Public Hearing) (B. James/L. Wood) Mayor Carpenter recognized Senor Planner Lesa Wood who introduced this item stating in 2010 the City of San Antonio released 3,486 acres of its Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) to the City of Schertz. City Council accepted the area into the City of Schertz ETJ and started the annexation proceedings. As part of the annexation proceedings a majority of the parcels located within the released area signed delayed annexation development agreements with the City in accordance with Texas Local Government Code (LGC) Section 43.035 and 212.172. The subject property has an executed delayed annexation development agreement with the City of Schertz. Cibolo Creek Municipal Authority has submitted a petition for voluntary annexation to the City of Schertz for a 69.111 acre tract of land. The subject property is located approximately 1500 feet north of I -10 and is located in Bexar County Texas, located at 7720 Trainer Hale Road. Currently, the subject property is located in the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) of the City of Schertz and located in the Schertz - Cibolo - Universal Independent School District. In accordance with Texas Local Government Code (LGC), The City Council will conduct two (2) public hearings regarding a voluntary petition for annexation on December 9, 2014 and December 16, 2014 at the regular City Council meetings. The first reading regarding of the ordinance for the petition for annexation will be considered on January 6, 2015 and final reading considered on January 13, 2015. A public hearing notice was published in "The Daily Commercial Recorder" on November 26, 2014 and the "Herald" on December 3, 2014 for the two required public hearings. The subject property, if annexed, will be considered for zoning concurrently with the first and final reading of the Ordinance. The zoning request will encompass the same land contained within the annexation petition. The applicant has requested to zone the subject property Public Use District (PUB) which is intended to identify and provide for land owned or may be owned by the City, County, State or Federal Government or the School District; land that has been dedicated to the City for public use such as parks and recreation, and land designated and dedicated to the City as a greenbelt. On November 19, 2014 the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that the property be annexed. In accordance with Texas Local Government Code (LGC) Chapter 43 the City must provide services to the land on the effective date of the annexation. While some services are provided to the subject property through Interlocal Agreement the City of Schertz must provide police protection, fire protection, emergency medical services, operation and maintenance of streets, solid waste collection and sewer service. Water service is provided by Green Valley Special Utility District. Staff recommended approval. Mayor Carpenter opened the public hearing and recognized the following who spoke in favor of this item: 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 3 - - Mr. Clint Ellis, General Manager of CCMA - Mr. Steve Layton, 12231 Lost Meadows Drive - Ms. Clare Layton, 12231 Lost Meadows Drive As no one else spoke, Mayor Carpenter closed the public hearing and opened it up for Council comments. No Council comments. Mayor Carpenter moved to the consent agenda items. Consent Agenda Items 2. Minutes - Consideration and/or action regarding the approval of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 25, 2014, and the Regular Meeting of December 2, 2014. (J. Kessel/B. Dennis) 3. Resolution No. 14 -R -85 — Consideration and/or action approving a Resolution authorizing the donation of approximately 600 square feet of real property to the Texas Department of Transportation; approving the City Manager's execution of a Donation Agreement and Donation Need, and authorizing the City Manager to take additional actions reasonably necessary therewith. (J. Bierschwale /J. Bierschwale) The following was read into record: RESOLUTION NO. 14 -R -85 A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS AUTHORIZING THE DONATION OF APPROXIMATELY 600 SQUARE FEET OF REAL PROPERTY TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; APPROVING THE CITY MANAGER'S EXECUTION OF A DONATION AGREEMENT AND DONATION DEED; AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO TAKE ADDITIONAL ACTIONS REASONABLY NECESSARY THEREWITH 4. Resolution No. 14 -R -99 — Consideration and/or action approving a Resolution approving and authorizing a Special Warranty Deed conveying Lot 15, Block 54, Live Oak Hills Subdivision to LCRA Transmission Services Corporation for the construction of a new electric transmission line. (J. Kessel/R. Galindo) The following was read into record: .YI] 1[iJlt17�1�'F� T ' A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING A SPECIAL WARRANTY DEED CONVEYING LOT 15, BLOCK 54, LIVE OAK HILLS SUBDIVISION, AN ADDITION IN GUADALUPE COUNTY, TEXAS, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN VOLUME 2, PAGES 146 -147 OF THE PLAT 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 4 - RECORDS OF GUADALUPE COUNTY, TEXAS TO LCRA TRANSMISSION SERVICES CORPORATION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION LINE AND OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who moved, seconded by Councilmember Azzoz to approve consent items 2 through 4. The vote was unanimous with Mayor Pro -Tem John, Councilmembers Fowler, Azzoz, and Edwards voting yes and no one voting no. Motion passed. Mayor Carpenter recessed the regular meeting at 7:17 p.m., into Executive Session pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551.074 Deliberation regarding the appointment of a public officer. Mayor Carpenter reconvened back into regular session at 7:55 p.m., and moved to item 1. 1. Review applications for vacant Place 5 City Council Position. Deliberation, discussion and possible action regarding appointment to the vacant Place 5 City Council position including appointment of an individual to the vacant position or requiring additional processes and procedures. Mayor Carpenter stated that at this time the Council would like to hear from those who applied and provide any commentary they would like to share. It was suggested that the order be in the reverse as was stated in the memo provided. Councilmember Edwards stated that he would like to hear from those in the same order that was submitted to Council. Council concurred. Mayor Carpenter recognized the following who spoke: - Mr. Robin Thompson - Mr. Bert Crawford - Mr. Sydney Verinder - Mr. Mark Davis - Mr. Glen Outlaw Mayor Carpenter thanked those who came forward and moved back into executive session at 8:16 p.m., pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551.074 Deliberation regarding the appointment of a public officer. Mayor Carpenter reconvened back into regular session at 8:35 p.m., and moved back to item 1. 1. Review applications for vacant Place 5 City Council Position. Deliberation, discussion and possible action regarding appointment to the vacant Place 5 City Council position including appointment of an individual to the vacant position or requiring additional processes and procedures. 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 5 - Mayor Carpenter stated that they have reviewed the applications for the vacant Place 5 position. Mayor Carpenter quoted Forrest Gump "Life is like a box of chocolates and you never know what you are going to get"; he stated he does not have a clue what is going to happen; it's a little bit like Christmas morning. Mayor Carpenter asked if there was an action to take this evening or a motion to be made. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who commented on the Mayors comment, box of chocolates, and sometimes you are going to get a box of chocolates that you are not going to want. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who moved, seconded by Councilmember Fowler to appoint Mr. Robin Thompson to the open City Council Seat Place 5. Mayor Carpenter asked for commentary or discussion from Council and recognized Councilmember Edwards who stated that he has been in this community since 1997. He has not seen someone pour their heart out to this community as much as he has. He has not seen someone at as many functions as he has been at and can only think of one other person, Mr. Jake Jacobs that has been to more functions, than Robin Thompson at this point. Councilmember Edwards stated it draws a great line of success when you are able to meet with people and understand their needs, and have an empathetic ear. He believes Mr. Thompson can step in and fill those shoes. Councilmember Duke was a good Councilman, and he believes that Mr. Thompson will be a great replacement for Councilmember Duke. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Fowler who stated that we had some great candidates put in their application. He stated that he doesn't say this lightly but we as a city are very lucky to have men who are willing to take on this job that are qualified. These are men he respects and wishes he could appoint them all. He stated that he is pleased to see the list of those that applied for the job. He stated that he is hopeful that because you were not selected this time, he doesn't want them to think that there was someone head and shoulders above them. Councilmember Fowler stated that he wants to see the other candidates around and busy in the community because each of them brings different things to the table. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who stated that he looked at all the applications of this year and from the past and respects his colleague for making a motion, but wants to take it for more discussion and asked that he withdraw his motion because he believes we are missing some individuals, not discrediting Mr. Thompson. There were other individuals that did not attend this evening. Councilmember Edwards stated that he makes it a point to run a very busy business, he has individuals that he has to see as well as understands his colleagues also has other individuals they need to see and everyone here is very busy. If he withdraws his motion he would not be doing himself or the citizens any favors. This is extremely important and he understands things happen; he has missed out on many opportunities because of circumstances beyond his control. However, he does not want to withdraw his motion 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 6 - because he thinks this is extremely important to get done tonight and before the end of the holidays. Mayor Carpenter echoed Councilmember Fowler; all of you that stepped forward and provided your application, but more importantly you stepped up and stated you would be willing to serve; that you would be willing to give every Tuesday night for the next year is a highly personal commitment. All of you are to be applauded for this. When he came out earlier and stated that "Life is like a box of chocolates, you're not sure what you are going to get" it's because in our discussions he honestly did not know where they were going to go when they came out here. That said, we have a motion and a second; all of us recognize that procedurally in order for a vote to pass we have to have three (3) aye votes. There are many scenarios, one of which puts him in the hot seat, where it makes him break a tie vote, and if he were to abstain in a two (2) aye, two (2) nay vote the motion would fail. We would continue discussion and deliberation. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who asked Councilmember Azzoz if he withdraws his motion are we considering the candidates who are not here and not giving them the opportunity to speak and give a presentation to the Council as well. That is what he is assuming. Councilmember Azzoz stated that if that is the consensus of Council, yes. After looking at everything yes, he is asking Councilmember Edwards to withdraw his motion. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who withdrew his motion. Council continued their discussion. Mayor Carpenter provided the following comments: The opportunity to be here this evening was available to everyone that applied. Some chose to be here and some did not. While he understands there are circumstances from time to time that would drive a person to not be able to attend a meeting, he gets that; it happens sometimes with all of us. The agenda was posted on Friday and the agenda read clearly that there was possible action tonight; we had people choose to be here and people who did not. He thinks this should weigh in their decision. He thinks leveling the playing field for someone who did not come tonight is potentially laudable but probably, in his personal opinion, not in the best interest of this process, and would encourage Council to make an appointment this evening based on that. Councilmember Edwards stated that it is his intent to make an appointment this evening and that he withdrew his motion out of courtesy for his colleague. As there was no further commentary, Mayor Carpenter indicated that he would entertain a motion. Councilmember Azzoz stated that he would like to give the other candidates who are not here this evening the opportunity and then look at the whole group again and then make a decision. We need to give them the opportunity to come before us. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who moved, seconded by Councilmember Fowler to appoint Robin Thompson to the vacant Place 5 City Council position. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards, who stated that last 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 7 - week they had a lot of commentary about what the Council Rules of Procedure and Conduct allows City Council to do and he quoted "J ", we could forgo any of those proceedings and basically make an appointment that night and at that time we stated that 90% of the people were in this room that wanted to apply for Council. I was told no 100% of the people were in this room. He is ready to step forward and put a Councilmember in place because it is the right thing to do. It's the positive direction for the City. Mayor Carpenter recognized Mayor Pro -Tem John who stated that he was looking through the action item and on the very last line it states that we have the possibility of conducting interviews on Tuesday, December 16, 2014, and he was hoping that the other candidates didn't take that as the date of the interview night to be here, and he knows that it states "possibly ", but he just wanted to point this out. Mayor Carpenter stated that to Councilmember Edwards point we could have made an appointment last week without going through any process of accepting applications. That is in the purview of the Council, given the Charter. We could have chosen a different path, but we chose to invite people. The vote was 3 -0 -1, with Mayor Pro -Tem John, Councilmember Edwards and Councilmember Fowler voting yes, and Councilmember Azzoz abstaining. Motion passed. Mayor Carpenter recognized City Secretary Brenda Dennis who provided the oath of office to newly appointed Robin Thompson, City Councilmember Place 5. Mayor and Council congratulated Mr. Thompson and Councilmember Thompson took his seat on the dais. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Thompson who thanked those who appointed him. Mayor Carpenter moved to the workshop agenda item. Workshop 0 Discussion and possible action regarding the Facilities Master Plan Project. (J. Kessel) Mayor Carpenter recognized City Manager John Kessel who introduced Public Works Coordinator Cindy Raleigh who introduced this item stating discussions began in the fall of 2013 with Council regarding the importance of a Facilities Master Plan. As our city's population grows, there are additional facilities needed to keep pace with that growth in order to provide adequate city services from today until build out. The Facilities Master Plan will be the roadmap to guide future facilities prioritization, funding, design, and construction so that every dollar spent on municipal facilities meets both short and long term needs. City Council has approved a budget of $145,000 for the 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 8 - development of a Facilities Master Plan to address facilities needs today, at a 50,000 population, and at a 75,000 population. A Facilities Master Plan Team was established to ensure the project had input from key areas of the organization. The team consisted of City Manager John Kessel, Deputy City Manager John Bierschwale, Chief of Staff Bob Cantu, Fire Chief David Covington, Director of Public Works Sam Willoughby, Owners Representative Phil Gaudreau, and Public Works Coordinator Cindy Raleigh. Discussions by the Facilities Master Plan Team were held in early Spring 2014 regarding the goals of the City -Wide Facilities Master Plan, including: ■ Benefits of planning vs. reacting ■ Immediate short term needs ■ Build out long term needs ■ Proper return of investment ■ Future Land Use Plan, Master Thoroughfare Plan, and ISO based Fire Station site selection The City -Wide Facilities Master Plan outcome will include: ■ Strategic near term recommendations for facility utilization ■ Long term goals and benchmarking for facilities planning ■ Recommendation of critical department adjacencies -by facility and campus area ■ Facility Assessment — based on existing building conditions of city facilities ■ Prioritized recommendations for future construction, reconstruction and property purchase, including Fire Station 43 site selection in southern Schertz ■ Cost analysis and financing options or directional recommendations ■ Analysis on the City's ability to own or lease additional facilities The timeline for the Request for Qualifications was developed in Summer 2014, including: ■ Request for Qualifications was publically noticed on July 3, 2014 ■ Six submittals were received and opened on July 24, 2014 ■ The six submittals were narrowed to three firms to interview in August 2014 ■ Interviews were held on August 27, 2014 and scoring submitted based on the RFQ submittals and interviews The top ranked firm, Wiginton Hooker Jeffry Architects PC ()ATHJ), was contacted in October 2014 and asked to submit a final proposal (scope and price). Meetings were held with WHJ to discuss the scope of work and fine tune the City's needs and insure that the City would receive the best and most useful return on investment. In November 2014, the final scope and cost proposal was finalized for city approval. Staff is updating the City Council on the project on December 9, 2014 prior to City Council considering a resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into a contract for a Facilities Master Plan. Pending Council discussion, a resolution to contract with Wiginton Hooker Jeffry Architects PC is scheduled for the December 16, 2014 Regular Council Meeting. Ms. Raleigh addressed questions from Council. 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 9 - No action taken. Discussion and Action Items 5. Resolution No. 14 -R -100 — Consideration and/or action approving a Resolution adopting the City Council Code of Ethics, and discussion and possible action regarding the City Council Rules of Procedure. (Mayor /Council) The following was read into record: RESOLUTION NO. 14 -R -100 A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS ADOPTING THE CITY COUNCIL CODE OF ETHICS AND OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH At the City Council meeting of November 18, 2014, City Council discussed the draft Code of Ethics. At that meeting City Attorney Connie Lock suggested two changes to the draft Code of Ethics. First, with regard to the Section entitled "Procedure for Conducting Inquiries," she stated that any time there is an investigation of a City Council member, the City should hire outside counsel to investigate this matter to avoid ethical conflicts and the perception that the City Attorney may be biased in such investigation. Second, the City Attorney suggested revising the Sections entitled "Correction" and "Censure" under "Enforcement of Violations," which state that if a Councilmember is being disciplined or censured such hearing should take place in executive session. These sections should be amended to state that such discipline or censure should be held in accordance with the Open Meeting Act. This change allows the meetings to be held in executive session unless the Councilmember requests a public hearing. In addition, with respect to the Section entitled "Procedure for Conducting Inquiries," Councilmember Duke asked if a Councilmember has the ability to defend himself if such Councilmember is the subject of an inquiry. City Manager John Kessel stated that any accused individual should be allowed to hear what the accusation is and respond to it. Mayor Carpenter suggested we have legal counsel and/or staff come up with a statement that would allow the accused to make a statement addressing the matter. The Code of Ethics has been revised to allow a Councilmember to provide a written response to the findings of an inquiry into that Councilmember. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who moved, seconded by Mayor Pro -Tem John to approve Resolution 14 -R -100. The vote was 3 -0 -1 Mayor Pro -Tern John, Councilmembers Fowler, Azzoz, and Edwards voting yes and no one voting no, and Councilmember Thompson abstained. Motion passed. 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 10 - 6. Ordinance No. 14 -T -49 — Consideration and/or action approving an Ordinance by the City Council of the City of Schertz, Texas authorizing a budget adjustment to the Park Fund (317) for the Pickrell Park ADA Project in the amount of $32,405.00. (First Reading) (B. James/K. Woodlee /C. VanZandt) The following was read into record: ORDINANCE NO. 14 -T -49 AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS AUTHORIZING A BUDGET ADJUSTMENT TO THE PARK FUND (317) IN THE AMOUNT OF $32,405.00; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT WITH THIS ORDINANCE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE Mayor Carpenter recognized Executive Director of Development Services Brian James who stated that on February 19, 2013 Council approved Resolution 13 -R -12 authorizing staff to submit and accept a grant application for funding under the Bexar County CDBG program. The approval authorized staff to propose a 50150 match of up to $61,488.00 for projects that involved readily achievable barrier removal (ADA) at five (5) parks facilities including Pickrell Park, Ashley Park, Woodland Oaks Park, Lone Oak Park, and Crescent Bend Nature Park. The application was submitted on February 26, 2013 and on March 15, 2013; staff received notification from Bexar County that the proposed project met all of the initial criteria for the program. Final approval (with modifications) of the project was received from Bexar County on July 16, 2013. It was determined that only one (1) of the five (5) park facilities met all of the CDBG criteria related to readily achievable barrier removal, ADA compliance, and persons with disabilities population served. For these reasons, Pickrell Park was the only facility that made the final submittal, however; the City was awarded the full amount, $61,488.00 with a requirement to utilize matching funds. Four bids were received on November 6, 2014. Review and tabulation of the bids indicate that M2 Federal, Inc. is the low bidder with a Base Bid of $112,594 and Additive Alternate 1 Bid of $23,214 with two irregularities. Originally $61,884.00 was budgeted for this project. Given that the Schertz portion of the project cost is $94,289.00 an additional $32,405.00 must be approved for this project. Staff is proposing it be taken from the Parkland Dedication Fund. The total balance in the Fund is $192,125.98. It is anticipated that the City will $60,000 this fiscal year for pavilions at the Dog Park, $40,000 for improvements at the Skate Park (water fountain, benches, pavilion, etc.) and park improvements at Sedona (Crossvine) of approxiunately $20,000. Pickrell Park ADA Walkway BudLet Engineering $9,115 Construction $145,058 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 11 - Legal $500 Advertising $500 Other Prof. Services $1,000 Project Total $156,173 CDBG Grant $ 61.884 City Responsibility $94,289 CDBG requires the City to pay invoices and then submit for reimbursement. The total reimbursement to be received by the CDBG Grant is $61,884. The cost of the project is higher than the 50% match grant from CDBG. The City opted to proceed with Additive Alternate #1 to extend the sidewalk to a wider width. The funds from CDBG will remain the same at $61,884; the City has set aside the matching $61,884 in a project account. The remaining of the monies will be paid from the Parkland Dedication Fund in the amount of $32,405. Construction costs total $145,058 with the total cost of the project totaling $156,173. The project was originally to be funded 50% by the CDBG Grant and 50% from the Parkland Dedication Fund. However, due to decision to exercise the Add Alternate #1, the City will be responsible for an amount not to exceed $94,289 to be paid for from the CDBG Matching Grant Project Account and the Parkland Dedication Fund. CDBG will contribute the remaining $61,884. Staff recommends approval Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who moved, seconded by Councilmember Fowler to approve Ordinance No. 14 -T -49, first reading. The vote was unanimous with Mayor Pro -Tem John, Councilmembers Fowler, Azzoz, Edwards, and Thompson voting yes and no one voting no. Motion passed. 8. Employee Compensation — Discussion and possible action regarding the City's Employee Compensation Plan. (Item requested by Mayor Carpenter) (J. Kessel/Council) Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who stated he has crunched some numbers and worked with a 15% increase in pay on the lowest paid person. Our point system may also need looking at. He has previously suggested we take some dollar amounts from the training budget and take the bottom 40 percent of our employees and give them that salary adjustment. We are below market on our employee salaries. Our police and fire people find better benefits elsewhere. If we don't pay people well today, we are paying for it through entitlements. We have to be fair here. His proposal is that we give a raise to the bottom paid 40 percent employees. Discussion followed between several councilmembers resulting in two points, 1) the bottom 40 percent consists of workers going through Grade 22, and 2) if one of our problems is compression, then we are still not solving that situation. City Manager John Kessel stated there are 140 employees that fall in Grade 22 and below. Councilmember Edwards stated at this time there were still too many missing variables to make a decision 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 12 - on any compensation adjustments. Councilmember Thompson added that merit needs to be added into the equation in order to reward excellence rather than mediocrity. Councilmember Fowler asked how does the raise tie into perks, such as medical insurance. Would there be other adjustments to these amounts? Councilmember John said he doesn't think we can make a decision until we get some vital information back from the Compensation Study that we have already paid for earlier this year. He thinks that after we receive this data then it would be the appropriate time to take action. Mayor Carpenter summarized by saying he believes the city's employee turnover fluctuates from around nine to eleven percent. He did a bit of research himself and what all cities should aim for is around ten percent; so we appear to be within a normal range. Another problem is compensating employees equally regardless of job performance which is known as a `Peanut Butter Spread'. This method is not good. Reason one is `compression', where a tenured employee would wind up getting the same amount as someone who was recently hired. Reason two is that no organization is made up exclusively of `high performers'; therefore, spreading money equally disincentives high performers, fails to reward those who are meeting all job requirements, and actually winds up rewarding poor performers. Another thing is in regard to the city charter; Article 7, Section 7.07 has five sections in it, Sections A, B, C, D, E. It talks about amendments to a budget after it has been adopted. There are four times where the budget can be amended. Three of those times require action by the City Manager. One is when we have a surplus of funds coming in, two is when we have a need for reduction of appropriations, and three is when we move money from one place to another. The only other time we can make an amendment to the budget is Section B of Section 7.07, in the case of an emergency when the situation at hand affects life, health, real property, or the public peace. If we have a natural disaster or have a time of civil arrest we can make appropriations for such an emergency. We don't have any of these conditions before us now. We passed a budget in the autumn and it included the spending of money to do a study of where we are. We have actually allocated $300,000 to begin the process of creating an environment where we get rid of that compression and move salaries to market value. Council will have to decide where we want to be in the market, at median, above or below. We need to take a disciplined and step wise approach. We can't just throw money at a problem. To answer Councilmember Thompson's question about merit increases, we have moved to having 0, 2, or 4% salary increases which gives us an opportunity to correct behavior when we have poor performers, give a nominal increase for folks meeting the requirements of their jobs and help accelerate the earnings of high performers. We are moving to long term and sustainable solutions. His recommendation to council is to get the study done which will give us information to make smart, careful, effective decisions the first time and the money is already allocated for via last year's budget. Also, if we just do the bottom 40 percent and give them all the same pay raise, Grade 22 and below leaves out all police officers, fire fighters, EMS employees. Compression problems exist in those departments and also needs to be dealt with. To get this really right over time, it will probably take a few years. We do need to strive to be above the middle tier but not put ourselves at risk financially. We need to do it in a way that is sustainable over time and does not disincentive performance and does not leave out critical departments. 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 13 - Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Fowler who asked City Manager John Kessel if he was able to do an analysis of the impact of taking $200,000 out of the training budget versus how much is required training for our rescue personnel. Mayor Carpenter stated, the training budget(s) of the police ($61,000), fire ($48,000), marshal's office ($10,000) & EMS ($35,000) totaling around the $150,000 range; just shy of half of the training budget ($380,000). It cuts hard into the emergency services budget and other departments. Deputy City Manager John Bierschwale reminded everyone that there are employees in other departments who have certifications they must maintain with a minimum yearly number of continuing education hours. We should be cautious about taking those training dollars away that affect people's jobs. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who stated how can we do a salary adjustment? People are complaining. Maybe we didn't do a good enough budget. It seems everyone is making excuses on why we can't do this adjustment. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Thompson who asked if the study that was referred to earlier has already been paid for. City Manager John Kessel stated that in April 2014 and requested additional funding for the study so we could get started. They have eight RFQ's submittals and the team is reviewing those; the funds have been allocated and are available. Effective October 1, 2014, the money was funded for $300,000. In January of 2015, we anticipate a contract to be submitted to Council to start the study. Mayor Carpenter stated he doesn't think the council would have chosen to spend the people's money to do a study or allocate $300,000 if we were not wanting to address what we know is an issue and that we want to solve it; but it has to be done in a sustainable and fair manner. Spreading it on only a portion of the organization is not fair. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who suggested we keep this on the future agendas until we get to a point where we need to be. Let's continue to troubleshoot it and bring forth more ideas. For clarification Mr. Kessel stated in that in April of 2014 through the budget adjustment process we funded a compensation study and in October we funded the implementation of that study. An RFQ process was started and the submittals have been returned. Since October 1, we have not had our HR Director available to direct this process. He is reviewing these documents at home and is ranking them. The target is to get a contract in front of council in January to authorize the selection of a firm and enter an agreement with them. Councilmember Fowler asked whether or not we should establish a deadline date for the selection of a contract. He suggested 90 days. Mayor Carpenter summarized by saying we have two courses of action: 1) Follow through on the plan chosen by council, or 2) choose a different path. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who moved, seconded by Mayor Pro -Tem John to wait until the compensation study is done and not take action to expend money on any pay raises other than those already regularly scheduled. The vote was 4 -0- 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 14 - I with Mayor Pro -Tem John, Councilmembers Fowler, Edwards & Thompson voting yes and, Councilmember Azzoz abstaining. Motion passed. Roll Call Vote Confirmation Mayor Carpenter recognized City Secretary Brenda Dennis who recapped the votes of items 1 through 8. Requests and Announcements 9. Announcements by City Manager • Citizen Kudos • Recognition of City employee actions • New Departmental initiatives No further announcements were made. 10. Requests by Mayor and Councilmembers that items be placed on a future City Council agenda. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who stated he would like to see the employee compensation item listed on future agendas. 11. Requests by Mayor and Councilmembers to City Manager and Staff for information. No request given. 12. Announcements by Mayor and Councilmembers • City and community events attended and to be attended • City Council Committee and Liaison Assignments (see assignments below) • Continuing education events attended and to be attended • Recognition of actions by City employees • Recognition of actions by community volunteers • Upcoming City Council agenda items Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Fowler who stated he attended the Chamber of Commerce event the other day and he wanted to state that the discussions we are having right now are pretty important and he hopes they continue for the sake of our employees and to re- group. He looks forward to getting the employee compensation contract signed within 90 days. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who stated he attended the Councilmember teambuilding workshop last Friday and found out he was a `creator' because he wants to do things. On Monday, he attended the Employee Appreciation Luncheon at the Civic Center. He also attended the Festival of Angels Parade. Today he 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page -15 - went to the Tri County Chamber of Commerce, which is a virtual chamber organization. ( Last Thursday, he attended the Cibolo Valley Local Government Corporation meeting. He learned a lot about water in about 15 minutes. He congratulated Robin Thompson on his appointment to Council tonight. Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Thompson who stated he was grateful for his Councilmember appointment tonight. He also acknowledged Mary Spence and her group for putting on the Festival of Angels this year. Councilmember Edwards thanked Linda Klepper and Erin Matlock for putting together some packets for a visiting team of dignitaries from Australia who were in town. Also Robin Thompson and the chamber staff put together packets. Mayor Carpenter stated he wanted to thank the Council for tonight's discourse. We had some strong disagreement tonight but nobody felt they couldn't say what they felt. Sessions like tonight strengthens us and prepares us for more challenging things that arise. That we can push on one another to get to the best results possible is a position of strength. He also congratulated newly appointed Councilmember Robin Thompson and welcomed him aboard. Adi ournment As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10: 35 p. m. j Michael R. Carpenter, Mayor ATTEST: Brenda Dennis, City Secretary 12 -09 -2014 Minutes Page - 16 -